Spinochordodes tellinii
| Spinochordodes tellinii | |
|---|---|
| |
| Spinochordodes tellinii with its bush-cricket host (Meconema thalassinum) | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Nematomorpha |
| Class: | Gordioida
|
| Order: | Gordioidea |
| Family: | Chordodidae |
| Subfamily: | Chordodinae
|
| Genus: | Spinochordodes |
| Species: | S. tellinii
|
| Binomial name | |
| Spinochordodes tellinii | |
Spinochordodes tellinii is a parasitic
influence its host's behavior: once the parasite is grown, it causes its grasshopper host to jump into water, where the grasshopper will likely drown. The parasite then leaves its host; the adult worm lives and reproduces in water.[2] S. tellinii does not influence its host to actively seek water over large distances, but only when it is already close to water.[3]
The microscopic larvae are ingested by their insect hosts and develop inside them into worms that can be three to four times longer than the host.
The precise molecular mechanism underlying the modification of the host's behaviour is not yet known. A study in 2005 indicated that grasshoppers which contain the parasite
geotactic activity, or the body's response to changes in gravity. Furthermore, it appears that the parasite produces proteins from the Wnt family that act directly on the development of the central nervous system and are similar to proteins known from other insects, suggesting an instance of molecular mimicry.[4]
A similar parasitic worm is Paragordius tricuspidatus.[5]
References
- ^ "Spinochordodes tellinii". Integrated Taxonomic Information System.
- ^ Bhattacharya, Shaoni. "Parasites brainwash grasshoppers into death dive". New Scientist. Retrieved 14 January 2019.
- doi:10.1046/j.1420-9101.2002.00410.x. Archived from the originalon 2012-07-13.
- PMID 16191624.
- .
External links
Data related to Spinochordodes tellinii at Wikispecies- Video of Spinochordodes tellinii, in which it causes a cricket to drown and then emerges from it.
